INTRODUCTION

France is a civil law system. Thus, the most important sources of French law are the five basic codes (Code civil, Le nouveau code de la procedure civile, Code de commerce, Code pnal, and Code de procedure pnal) and the French Constitution. These sources, along with custom, are primary sources of law. Persuasive sources of law include jurisprudence (court decisions) and doctrine (legal writings). An important distinction in French law lies between "public law" and "private law." Public law includes questions relating to government, the constitution, public administration, and criminal law; private law includes questions of justice between private persons or corporations. France is a federal parliamentary republic organized into three branches of government, with a strong executive branch. The president appoints the Council of Ministers, which is commonly referred to as the government. The legislative branch (Parlement) is bicameral, consisting of l'Assemble nationale (National Assembly) and le Snat (Senate). SOURCES OF LAW : A. PRIMARY SOURCES : I. Legislation

The French Parliament (Parlement) has the power to enact laws in the following areas: civil rights, nationality, status, capacity of persons, crimes and criminal procedure, currency, inheritance, and taxation. The power to regulate all other subjects rests with the executive. The Journal Officiel) publishes laws and executive regulations. Laws are effective upon their publication in the Journal. An unofficial version of the Journal provides searching and indexes from 1996-1998.

II. Constitution French constitutional law includes the following documents, which combine to form the current French Constitution, including its Preamble [which refers to the Rights of Man and the principle of national sovereignty expressed in the 1789 Declaration]; and the Preamble to the 1946 Constitution. The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946.

Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth Republic, while the text was drafted by Michel Debr. Since then the constitution has been amended eighteen times, most recently in 2008. The preamble of the constitution recalls the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen from 1789 and establishes France as a secular and democratic country, deriving its sovereignty from the people. It provides for the election of the President and the Parliament, the selection of the Government, and the powers of each and the relations between them. It ensures judicial authority and creates a High Court (a never convened court for judging the President), a Constitutional Council, and an Economic and Social Council. It was designed to create a politically strong President. It enables the ratification of international treaties and those associated with the European Union. It is unclear whether the wording (especially the reserves of reciprocity) is compatible with European Union law. The Constitution also sets out methods for its own amendment either by referendum or through a Parliamentary process with Presidential consent. The normal procedure of constitutional amendment is as follows: the amendment must be adopted in identical terms by both houses of Parliament, then must be either adopted by a simple majority in a referendum, or by 3/5 of a joint session of both houses of Parliament (the French Congress) (article 89). However, president Charles de Gaulle bypassed the legislative procedure in 1962 and directly sent a constitutional amendment to a referendum (article 11), which was adopted. This was highly controversial at the time; however, the Constitutional Council ruled that since a referendum expressed the will of the sovereign people, the amendment was adopted. Impact on personal freedoms Prior to 1971, though executive, administrative and judicial decisions had to comply with the general principles of law, there were no such restrictions on legislation. It was assumed that unelected judges and other appointees should not be able to overrule laws voted for by the directly elected French parliament. In 1971, a landmark decision by the Constitutional Council cited the preamble of the Constitution and its references to the principles laid in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as a reason for rejecting a law that, according to the Council, violated one of these principles. Since then, it is assumed that the "constitutional block" includes not only the Constitution, but also the other texts referred to in its preamble: the Declaration, but also the preamble of the 1946 Constitution (which adds a number of "social rights", as well as the equality of males and females) and the Environment Charter of 2004.

Since then, the possibility of sending laws before the Council has been extended. In practice, the political opposition sends all controversial laws before it. Amendments The Constitution defines in Article 89 the rules for amending itself. First, a constitutional bill must be approved by both houses of Parliament. Then, the bill must be approved by the Congress, a special joint session of both houses; alternatively, the bill can be submitted to a referendum. In 1962, president Charles de Gaulle controversially submitted a bill to a referendum through another procedure defined at article 11 of the Constitution. This procedure has never been used since then for constitutional changes.

III. Codes/Statutes

The French legal system is based on the civil law tradition which has at its core five codes: civil, civil procedure, commercial, criminal, and criminal procedure. As a member of the European Union, France must also incorporate EU law into its legal system.

1. Code civil (CIVIL CODE)

Napoleon in later life considered the Civil Code to be the most significant of his achievements. The Code represented a comprehensive reformation and codification of the French civil laws. The Civil Code represents a typically Napoleonic mix of liberalism and conservatism, although most of the basic revolutionary gains - equality before the law, freedom of religion and the abolition of feudalism - were consolidated within its laws. Property rights, including the rights of the purchasers of the biens nationaux were made absolute. The Code also reinforced patriarchal power by making the husband the ruler of the household.

2. Le nouveau code de la procedure civile ( CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE)

Any legal action to try a case where private interests are at stake (eg. Between two individuals) takes place in a civil court. Civil procedure may lead to payment of damages, but not a criminal

penalty (eg imprisonment). The Civil Procedure Code (CPC) will hold the entire procedure like the definition of the subject matter to enforce the judgment by way of proof, the possibilities of reconciliation etc. Napoleonic Code of Civil Procedure The first code of civil procedure, "Napoleon," was introduced by the Act of 14 April 1806 and came into force in 1807. Contemporary Code of Civil Procedure From 1973 a new code was introduced by several decrees successive. Finally, Decree No. 751123 of 5 December 1975, entered into force on 1 January 1976, was officially called, until 2007, "new" (new Code of Civil Procedure or NCPC) as part of the former was still in force. And some items were duplicated, such as Article 701 NCPC and section 701 of the former CPC. The provisions still in force of the old code were gradually replaced or repealed, with significant changes in 2006. Finally, Article 26 of Law No. 2007-1787 of 20 December 2007 on the simplification of the law has permanently revoked the code of 1806 and gave the "new" code official name of the Code of Civil Procedure .

3. Code de commerce (COMMERCIAL CODE)

In France , the Commercial Code is a set of laws that deal with the commercial law . The Commercial Code, which is developed by means of the law and the order has legal value. The code consists of nine books that break down each in titles:
y y y y y y y y

Trade in general; commercial companies and economic interest groups; some forms of sales and exclusivity clauses; of free pricing and competition; commercial paper and guarantees; business difficulties; the organization of trade; some regulated professions;

provisions relating to overseas

4. Code penal (Criminal Code)

The special criminal law is the study of all crimes , their elements of the offenses and penalties for each. In France , the offenses are under the Penal Code and uncodified laws and decrees, and their definition must respect the principle of legality of offenses and penalties provided for in Article 8 of the Declaration of Human Rights and citizen . The Penal Code makes a distinction of offenses by the object and penalties . The penalties are indicative and their determination is left to the discretion of judges. Certain circumstances may worsen both. Crimes and offenses against persons include genocide and crimes against humanity Invasion of human life includes : y y Violence to life willful attacks on life - murder and poisoning

y y

The unintentional taking of life - Manslaughter. Attacks on the physical or mental integrity of the person

1. Willful attacks: torture and barbarous acts, violence 2. Unintentional violence 3. Sexual assault, rape 4. drug trafficking

Crimes and Crimes against property A. Appropriations fraudulent

y y

flight (3 years and 45 000) extortion (7 years and 100 000), blackmail (5 years and 75 000), request for funds under this stress is to say the fact, in a meeting and aggressively, or threat of an animal

dangerous, soliciting, in public, on receipt of funds, securities or property (6 months and 3 750 )
y y

scam (5 years and 375 000) and related offenses, such as diddle (6 months and 7 500 ) diversions: embezzlement , misappropriation or destruction of an object pawned or seized item (3 years and 375 000), fraudulent organization of insolvency by increasing or decreasing the liability of its heritage assets, either by reducing or concealing all or part of its income, either by concealing some of its assets in order to evade the execution of a sentence (three years and 45 000) B. Other damage to property

y y y

concealment destruction, defacement and damage of property of another volunteer laundering of money or property from a misdemeanor Crimes and offenses against the nation, the State and public peace 1. Violations of the fundamental interests of the nation

y y

treason and espionage Other violations:

o o o

attempt and conspiracy insurgency usurpation of command, raising military provocation and to arm themselves illegally

5. Code de procdure pnale (Code of Criminal Procedure)

The current Code, the Code de procdure pnale (CPP), dates from 1958. It replaced, with effect from 2 March 1959, an earlier Code called the Code dinstruction criminelle (CIC), which dated from 1808, and was part of the Napoleonic scheme of codification.

Statutes include y y y y y y y y Administrative Law Antitrust Law Business and Commercial Law Criminal Law and Procedure Intellectual Property Labour Law Real Property Taxation

V. Cases & Courts

Precedence does not exist formally in France. Cases do have binding authority over the parties, but not on future cases. Cases do, however, have persuasive value and lower court judges are aware of higher court decisions. Jurisdiction of French courts is divided primarily between l'ordre administratif (administrative courts), and l'ordre judicaire ("ordinary courts"). L'ordre judicaire courts handle both civil and criminal cases. For civil cases, the judiciary consists of higher courts (grande instance) and lower courts (tribunaux d'instance). Criminal cases are tried by tribunaux correctionnels ("courts of correction") and tribunaux de police ("police courts" for minor offenses). The decisions of these courts can be referred to one of the 35 courts of appeal (cours d'appel). The cour d'assizes can also try criminal cases. The highest court for l'ordre judicaire is the cour de cassation. The cour de cassation is sometimes called the Supreme Court of France. For l'ordre administratif, the highest court is the conseil d'Etat. If questions arise as to the appropriate jurisdiction of the courts, they are resolved by the tribunal des conflits. In 1958, France created the Conseil Constitutionnel, which has the power to review the constitutionality of legislation..

VI. Periodicals

Periodicals are a valuable source of information on French law and the legal system. There are many law reviews and international journals available in English

CUSTOMS : LEGAL CUSTOMS OF FRANCE

Coutumes are legal customs of France. During the Middle Ages and early modern period the French kings and their vassals constantly asserted the importance and, in effect, primacy of customary law, especially in the lands north and west of Paris. The area where the French customary law (droit coutumier) was in force was known as the pays de coutume. In the south of France Roman law was paramount (pays de droit crit). The line separating the two areas was generally the river Loire, from Geneva to the mouth of the Charente. A number of regional coutumes were compiled in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Coutumes de Beauvaisis, compiled by Phillipe de Remy, had a long-lasting influence on French law. There were about 60 such regional coutumes. There were also more than 300 coutumes locales in specific towns and villages. Voltaire said that in France a traveler changed laws as often as he changed horses. However, by the 16th century the Coutumes of Paris (first published in 1510) had been adopted in all areas except Normandy, Burgundy and Brittany. Further development of customary law had been halted by the late 16th century. When the Napoleonic code entered into force in 1804 all the coutumes were abolished.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ( radhika s n mine combined)

The information for this project has been taken from the following sources: 1. www.wikipedia.com 2. www.dogpile.com 3. http://library.law.umn.edu/researchguides/france.html 4. http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/code/book1/c_title01.html

5. http://legislationline.org/documents/section/criminal-codes 6. http://legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/3316/file/France_Criminal%20Code%2 0updated%20on%2012-10-2005.pdf 7. http://translate.google.co.in/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://fr.wikipedia.org 8. http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/c_code.html